Smackdown KO'd by CW
The CW is getting out of the ring with pro wrestling.
The network announced Thursday that it is dropping Friday Night Smackdown from its schedule at the close of the 2007-08 season after almost 10 years on the air.
In separate statements, the CW and World Wrestling Entertainment said that "after a successful decade of Smackdown," they had come to a mutual agreement to end their partnership.
No official reason for the cancellation was given. Friday Night Smackdown currently ranks as the second-most watched show on the CW with about 4.8 million viewers this season, behind only the network's America's Next Top Model.
However, the WWE's profile was undoubtedly shaken by the murder-suicide case of former champion wrestler Chris Benoit last June, possibly leading the CW to reevaluate its relationship with the organization.
The WWE said it began talks with other networks to find a possible new home for the weekly two-hour series after the CW's exclusive period to negotiate a renewal expired Jan. 31.
Though no details were given, potential candidates include the USA Network, which already airs WWE Raw, and MyNetworkTV, where some affiliates aired the series back when it was still carried by UPN.
Smackdown premiered on UPN in 1999. When UPN and the WB merged to form the CW in 2006, it made the jump, but proved a somewhat incompatible fit with the network, which prides itself on female-friendly fare such as Gossip Girl and America's Next Top Model.
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